After a tough week of racing in the Italian mountains at the Giro Rosa, the Team Giant-Shimano Women’s Team are back in action on the flatlands at the BeNe Ladies Tour.

This two-day race in the Netherlands is set over three stages – an opening 103km stage followed by a double header on the Sunday, starting with a 9.6km morning time trial then an 86km road stage in the afternoon.

Lucy Garner (GBR), Willeke Knol (NED), Amy Pieters (NED), Julia Soek (NED) and Marijn De Vries (NED) all come to this race aft the back of a hard week at the Giro Rosa, and they are joined by Kyara Stijns (NED) fresh from racing the European U23 Road Race this past weekend.

“I think that we will have a strong team to challenge well at the BeNe Tour with five riders coming out of the Giro Rosa,” said Team Giant-Shimano Women’s Team coach Hans Timmermans (NED).

“If there is wind then that should play into our hands and together with the cobbles there are plenty of factors in this race that can make a difference, and we will be ready for these.

“Lucy will be our sprinter here and it will be another good opportunity for her to have her own chances and develop. It is quite an unpredictable race for breaks against sprints though so we will use the others to get in the moves. Hopefully Amy will have recovered well from her crash in Italy and be able to challenge for the overall here too.”